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Topic: Anyone have any knowledge working on a 55-58 indian tomahawk? (Read 1591 times)

I'm 19 and mid-dissassembly in my first restoration project. These Indian tomahawks were produced from either 55-58 or 56-59 and I believe they may be the same mechanically as the standard 500 twin they were producing at that point. Anyways, I have a ton of questions and am just looking for someone who has the experience with one of these motors, or just savvy with classic RE motors in general, starting with where i may be able to find official oem parts and special tools?

I have a manual for the 500 twin. It's the same motor. The difficulty I have is that it's very wordy. These words aren't typically used today because some of the parts aren't utilized in modern mechanics or there are different American substitutes as opposed to 1950's British terminology. It's like a different language. Most of the time the diagrams in that and the parts catalog I have are helpful, but I get stuck on descriptive or oddly worded parts often.

Should I replace the transmission with a newer one or preserve originality of the bike and keep the archaic, poorly designed old one? The 4 speed gearbox is very similar but I believe I have to replace the whole thing in order to upgrade the clutch, which is very different form ones produced after them. On my bike, a 57 indian tomahawk 500cc twin made by RE, the clutch cable hooks right up to the top of the clutch and is the only thing preventing me from upgrading just the clutch itself. If there was a way to fit a newer clutch on the old gearbox I would. Any input or solutions?(my clutch fitting, will provide schematics from shop manual and pics of mine to anyone who knows their 500cc clutch/gearbox shit)

On the 700cc they use two types of clutch the scissor and the pushrod type. If yours hooks directley to the clutch under the primary then it's the scissor type. If thats the case then you would have to change the shaft to use the later Bullet type. ERC

It is a scissor clutch. I had no idea what it was called so I couldn't find anything on it.Now that I've found all the replacement parts I need on Hitchcocks, and somewhat know what I'm dealing with, I might as well work with what I've got and keep the whole unit on. I have the clutch off down to the "scissor twin clutch centre", and I'm told I need a "clutch hub puller." How do I get this piece off without royally screwinging things up?

You'll need a puller of some type, with three holes that line up with the hub. You have to remember the bolts you use have to be the same thread as the hub. The ones that hold the plate on might be long enough. ERC

I went to Home Depot, picked up about $2 in hardware and ghetto rigged myself a puller with a piece of the clutch, an extra 2 sockets and a socket wrench. I'll explain the process to anyone who asks.I was so pumped I was finally moving along when I get this shit- the three hex screws that hold on the primary cover underneath the primary sprocket are stripped to perfect cylinders, and the metal is violently torn up around it. That's not even the worst of it. The giant nut that is holding the primary chain sprocket on (approx 320mm, tried a monkey wrench but its torqued on there more than I can physically muster) is chewed up even worse. He-man couldn't have done this with any hand tool that I know of, it's nearly unrecognizeable.

Are there any solutions short of hitting it with a grinder and replacing it? (I've soaked it in wd-40 for 5 days now, hitting it lightly with a hammer to see if it would penetrate anymore. It didn't.) Also, what should I do about the three hex screws? Drill them out?

You may be able to strike it with a chisel or an air chisel to loosen it. Most likely you'll have to cut it off, just be real careful you don't mess up the threads on the crank. The allen head screws could maybe be removed with an easy-out. If you drill the heads off then the screw is flush with the block making them again hard to remove. The easy-out may work if you heat the area around them the aluminum will expand more than the steel making them come loose. ERC

" Are there any solutions short of hitting it with a grinder and replacing it? (I've soaked it in wd-40 for 5 days now, hitting it lightly with a hammer to see if it would penetrate anymore. It didn't.) Also, what should I do about the three hex screws? Drill them out? '

wd-40 is NOT a penetrating oil. get ya some PB blaster or liquid wrench...you won't have to soak for days with either.

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'My dear you are ugly, but tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be ugly' - Winston Churchill

The giant nut that is holding the primary chain sprocket on (approx 320mm, tried a monkey wrench but its torqued on there more than I can physically muster)

I'm assuming the nut size you refer to is a 32mm, not 320.Harbor Freight has a metric socket set from 19mm to 50mm that's 3/4" drive and comes with breaker bars, ratchets, etc for about $25.00. It's perfect for all the big nuts on REs.Bare

I feel obligated to report that the socket set in question at Harbor Freight costs $60 (currently "on sale"), not $25. Although, there are coupons all over the place for HF discounts, so one can usually get 10-30 percent off depending on your tenacity...